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6 min

6 must-haves for running a B2C survey

Learn the 6 absolute must-haves to run a B2C survey

GrapeData
Dec 31, 2022
B2C market research

Introduction

A B2C survey is a key part of any business's marketing strategy. It helps you understand what your customers want, and how well your products and services are meeting those needs. In addition, a B2C survey lets you know where you can improve in order to provide even better service in the future. But if you're not careful, it's easy to set up a survey that doesn't give you the results you need. Here are six must-haves for creating effective B2C surveys that get results:

What is a B2C survey?

You may be familiar with B2B surveys, which are used to gather feedback from business people or other professionals. A B2C survey is used to gather feedback from consumers i.e. people who are not professionals in the field of your survey.

In the case of a marketing campaign for a new product or service, you might send out a B2C survey via email asking customers whether they think the new product is worth buying. In addition, you can ask if they will purchase it after seeing advertisements promoting its release. If your goal is simply to gather information on how well your marketing efforts are working, you could send out another type of survey asking customers how effective those ads were at convincing them to buy the product.

The type of survey you create will depend on your needs. If you’re looking for general feedback on a product or service, B2C surveys are best.

1. Write a clear and easy-to-read B2C survey

The first must-have for a B2C survey is that it must be clear and easy to read. Let's see below a list of tips for writing these kinds of surveys:

  • Make it easy to read
  • Ask relevant questions
  • Make sure the questions are clear and unambiguous
  • Include open-ended questions where appropriate.

Find more survey writing tips here.

2. Recruit B2C survey respondents

Recruiting respondents for your survey can be a daunting task, but it’s also an important part of the process. You want to make sure that you choose people who are likely to give you feedback that’s relevant to your business and its customers.

There are a few factors you should consider when recruiting respondents:

  • Are they from the right demographic? This means that they match up with the characteristics of the population you want feedback from. For example, do they fit into one of your target groups? If not, maybe it wouldn’t be worth it to run this particular survey with this audience segment.
  • Do these people have some kind of connection with your business? For example, are these your customers or potential customers? Or perhaps they're just someone who's interested in your company because they like the product, but are not necessarily a customer yet. Make sure that whatever incentive(s) you offer will be enticing enough for them.

The next thing you should know is what kind of questions to ask in your B2C survey, which we'll discuss in the next section. It’s important to choose the right questions for your survey. There are three main types: open-ended questions, multiple choice, and rating scales. Learn more about rating scales in this guide.

3. Ask specific and relevant questions in your B2C survey

Use the following tips to make sure you ask specific and relevant questions in your B2C survey:

  • Ask questions that are specific and relevant to your business
  • Use short, clear, and simple language
  • Avoid jargon and technical terms
  • Ask questions that can be answered with a yes or no
  • Create questions that can be answered with a scale of 1 to 5

4. Know who to include in your B2C surveys

Once you’ve decided on the key question(s) you want to answer, it’s time to start thinking about who should be in your survey.

Here are some questions that will help you determine who fits into each of these categories:

  • Who do I want to survey? This can be as specific as “only people who buy groceries every week” or “anyone with an interest in running marathons.” If there are certain demographics that are especially important for your business, then those should be included or excluded from the sample too (e.g., 18-to-24-year-old women).
  • Who are my competitors? You might not think this is relevant if you don't have any direct competition. However, knowing which brands come up when people search online can give insight into what they're looking for and how much they're willing to spend. This can be a valuable piece of information when determining a price point for your product or service.
  • Who are my customers or users? It's best practice not only to include them but also to ensure their opinions matter by asking them questions tailored specifically toward their needs and desires. For instance, consider asking about their satisfaction level with a specific product rather than just asking "would you recommend this brand?" The latter approach may yield higher scores overall. However, it won't tell you much about what users really feel about a particular product.

5. Understand when to launch a B2C survey and how often to send it out

When you have a new product or service, a new marketing campaign, a new pricing structure, or a new distribution channel, you can consider launching a B2C survey to get information. A survey can help you determine customer satisfaction, find out what they want, and pinpoint areas of improvement. It’s a great way to get feedback on the products or services you provide so that you can improve them in the future.

6. How long should B2C surveys be?

B2C surveys are often the most important tools in your arsenal. After all, they're the key to finding out what customers need, want, and expect from you. But how long should B2C surveys be?

The answer depends on a few different factors. Two of these factors could be what kind of information you're looking for and how long it takes them to answer all your questions. If respondents get bored or frustrated because they have to spend too much time on a survey, they might not give their full attention. This could mean an inaccurate response rate or skewed results. Learn more about how to calculate your survey response rates here.

On the other hand, if your questions are too short and straightforward (or even non-existent), they could leave out important details about what kind of experiences customers had with products or services in the past. In addition, you could miss finding out whether there are specific things about those experiences that need improving or fixing now. The ideal length for a B2C survey varies according to the nature of your project. However, you should allow enough time for respondents to provide thoughtful responses while also keeping their attention spans engaged.

When should you close your B2C survey?

In this section, we'll talk about how long you should keep your survey open. The answer to this question depends on a few factors:

  • Are you getting enough responses? If your response rate has been low, it may be worth it to extend the length of your survey. A longer survey will allow more people to participate and provide valuable insights into the behaviour of your target audience. However, if there are too many respondents and not enough data points for analysis, you might need to stop the survey sooner than planned.
  • Do you have enough time for analysis? When planning out a project timeline, make sure that there is adequate time allotted for analysing results before making any decisions based on them. This is especially true if there’s an opportunity cost associated with delaying other aspects of the project while waiting for analysis results. For example, a competitor could launch their product while yours sits in limbo because all resources are tied up in data collection and analysis tasks.
  • Are you getting enough data? If your goal is to collect a certain number of responses, make sure that you have enough time to reach it. For example, if you need 100 responses but only 10% of people are completing the survey after 30 minutes have elapsed, then extending its length will not be helpful. In this scenario, consider raising the reward associated with the survey or other strategies.

How many B2C surveys should you send?

Countless surveys have been sent out and countless responses have been received. But how many is enough?

The right number of surveys depends on what you're looking for. However, it's better to send out a lot of reminders with the hope of getting some responses. If you send out fewer reminders, your response rate will be lower. However, if you send out more reminders than usual and get few or no responses at all (especially from people who seem like they should), then that may mean something about your target audience.

Even if the number of people who respond isn't high enough for statistical significance, the insights you gain from those who do respond can still help inform any future decisions about your business.

Follow these tips to create effective B2C surveys that get the feedback you need from your customers

If you're looking to improve your business, you need to get feedback from your customers. At the end of the day, they're the ones who will help you make better decisions and succeed in your industry. But before we talk about how to do that, let's talk about why it's important.

A business-to-consumer (B2C) survey is an instrument used by companies to collect data on their target audience or customers' satisfaction level with a certain product or service provided by the company. A B2C survey can be conducted online over a period of time. Or, it can be conducted through face-to-face interviews with participants who are chosen based on specific criteria set by researchers (such as demographics). This type of research helps businesses understand how satisfied their customers are after using their products or services so that they can improve upon them in future iterations of their workflows and marketing strategies.

Let's take a look at some tips for writing effective B2C surveys:

  • Be clear about what question you want answered. Start off with one very specific idea in mind before trying anything else! If this seems difficult right now then keep coming back until something clicks; there may be several potential solutions but only one correct answer.
  • Ask open-ended questions. Don't just ask for a yes or no answer; leave room for people to explain their reasons for selecting either option. This will help you understand why someone made their choice and what factors influenced it.
  • Ask questions about specific topics. Avoid asking for general opinions about a product or service. Instead, ask specific questions relating to your business (such as whether or not someone would be likely to buy from you again). This will help you get specific insights into what people like and dislike so that you can improve upon them in future iterations of your workflows.

Conclusion

Now that you know the secrets to run a B2C survey, you’re ready to create better surveys and get more results. If you follow these tips, your surveys will be easier for customers to fill out and help you collect their valuable feedback. Need more advice? Contact us here to learn more about a B2C survey. You can also check out our guide titled 'A B2C survey explained: How to run one and more'.

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